Type bar or slug.



P. T. DODGE.

TYPE BAR OR SLUG.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 28, 1915.

Patented Sept. 12,1916.

[. I I I I l UNITED STATES PATENT oEEroE.

PHILIP T. DODGE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO MERGENTHALER LINOTYPE COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

TYPE BAR OR SLUG.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed June 28, 1915. Serial No. 36,639.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, PHILIP T. DODGE, a citizen of the United States, residing at- New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Type Bars or Slugs, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

My invention relates to type bars or slugs, such as linotypes, bearing on their edges the type characters to appear in print. In use, the slugs are assembled side by side in a row or column to make up the printing form, from which the print or impression is taken.

Certain classes of work, such as advertising, illustrative matter and the like, require the use of cuts or printing plates in the form, and to meet this requirement, the slugs are usually cut off just beyond their type characters to provide an open space in the form for the reception of a supporting block upon which the cutis mounted. This practice is objectionable, as it not only involves a number of different operations which entail much labor and loss of time, but in addition difficulty is experienced in looking up the form in the proper and exact manner required. Furthermore, the use of supporting blocks for the plates is undesirable, since they must be specially prepared to correspond to the particular plates to be inserted, and moreover they can rarely be used after one service.

My invention is intended to overcome the above objections and aims to provide slugs with plain or smooth surfaces upon which the printing plate may be directly supported, and with upstanding lips or projections of less than type height to engage the edges of the plate and hold it securely in place. The location of the overhanging projections is made to correspond to the size or extent of the plate, that is, they are located at the opposite ends of the slugs or centrally thereof according to the size or position of the plate or according to the extent of the type characters on the slugs. These features and others will be more fully discussed in the detailed description to follow and finally pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawing, 1 have shown my invention merely in preferred form and byway of example, and as applied to a type bar as produced in the ordinary commercial linotype machine, but it will be understood that the invention is capable of embodiment in other forms, and of adaptation to type bars of other kinds,

which will still be comprised withinits spirit. Generally speaking, I. desire it to be understood that I do not limit myself to any specific form or embodiment, except in so far as such limitations are specified in the claims.

Referring to the drawing :Figure 1 illustrates a printing form comprising type bars or slugs constructed in accordance with my invention; and Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

As shown in Fig. 1, the form A comprises the series of type bars or slugs B and the cut or plate G, the slugs having on their upper edges the usual type characters B and being arranged side by side in a column so as to be locked up in an ordinary chase, in the manner indicated, for instance, by dotted lines in Fig. 2.

As previously stated, the present invention is intended to make the underlying slugs B of such form as to afford direct support for the plate C and to hold it securely in place. To thisend, the slugs are provided with fiat or plain surfaces B upon which the base of the plate may rest, these surfaces being located at such height as to support the plate with its printing face flush with the type characters B Each of the slugs is also provided with a pair of complementary upstanding lips or projections 13 which are preferably undercut so as to engage and overhang the beveled edges of the printing plate, andthus to hold the latter securely against edgewise or lateral displacement. lhese projections B are of less than type height so as to stand below the printing surface.

Owing to the irregular extent of the plate C, the projections B on the respective slugs are diflerently located to correspond. For instance, the projections on the slugs marked D are uniformly spaced apart on the slugs and are located well to the left thereof, while the projections on the slugs marked E are spaced apart a greater distance and are shown as occupying a substantially central position. The only requ, rement in this connection is-that the position of the holding projections be made to correspond to the extent or size of the plate'employed, it besired manner. It will further be noted that most of the slugs having the holding pro jections B are characters B "while others are without them. It will be obvious, of course, that the presence or absence of the characters will depend essentially upon the class of work involved;

In order to facilitate the insertion of the plate C in position upon the slugs, the lat-- ter may be divided into sections, as indicated in Fig. 2, wherein one of the slugs is shown as comprising two sections B and B each carrying one of the complementary holding projections B In this way, the plate may be laid down fiatwise upon the plain surfaces B of the slugs and secured firmly in place by compressing the slugs endwise, as is usual in making up the "form. The line of division is preferably located substantially midway between the complementary holding projections B, so that the plain surfaces 13 of the two sections may be of nearly equal length and afford an extended support for the plate, whose downward pressure upon the slugs will thus act to keep it properly seated and insure the engagement of the holding projections B over its edges.

The foregoing will serve to illustrate the underlying principle of my invention, and it will be manifest that many changes and variations therein may be made without de- Thus the form of projections may be altered or the printing slugs may be integral throughout. Further, instead of providing all of the slugs which underly the plate with holding projections, a smaller number may be so formed, and thisvwithout necessarily locating two projections on each slug,for instance, the projections which engage the plate at one edge may be located on different slugs from those which engage it at the opposite edge. The essential idea is that the projections be so arranged as to engage and parture from its scope. the holding hold the printing plate in proper position upon those slugs which give it support.

I am aware that it is old to provide a type bar or slug with a pair of projections of less than type height, but these projections are not only designed for a purpose different from that described herein but are incapable of being used for a like purpose. These projections are employed to hold a straight rule in position upon the slugs, and for this reason, they must be uniformly spaced apart on the different slugs and also located in the same position in the length thereof. Further, the projections are formed from a single matrix, which must not only have a given dimension to insure their uniform also provided with the type.

spacing, but which must also be set in the same position in the following lines to insure the proper alinement of the projections on the successive slugs when assembled in the form. My invention, on the other hand, dealing as it does with broad and flat plates of irregular extent, requires that the holding projections be spaced apart different distances on the successive slugs, and in addition that they be located in different positions lengthwise of the slugs. These and other distinctions will be apparent to those skilledin the art. 1

Having thus described my invention, its construction and mode of operation, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is as follows:

1. A printing form comprising a series of slugs arranged side by side, certain of the slugs having plain or flat extended surfaces to receive and support a broad and flat cut or printing" plate, and formed with widely separated" upstanding projections to engage the plate and hold it in position thereon.

2'. A printing form comprising a series of slugs arranged side by side, certain of the slugs having plain or flat surfaces to receive and support a broad and flat. cut or printing plate, and formed With widely separated undercut projections to overhang the edges of the plate and hold it securely in'place thereon.

3. A printing form comprising a series of slugs arranged side by side, certain of the slugs having plain or flat surfaces to receive and support a cut or printing plate of irregular extent, and formed with upstanding projections to hold the plate in position, said projections being located in different positions on the respective slugs so as to correspond to the irregular extent of the plate.

4. A printing form comprising a seriesof slugsarranged side by side, certain of the slugs having plain or flat surfaces to receive and support a cut'or printing plate of irregular extent and formed with undercut projections to engage and hold the plate in position, the said projections being located in different positions on the respective slugs tci correspond to the irregular extent of the p ate. I g

7 5. A printing form comprising a series of slugs arranged side by side, certain of the slugs having plain or flat surfaces to receive and support a cut or printing plate of irregular extent and each formed with a pair of complementary undercut holding each formed with a plate-holding projecface withholding projections to engage the tion, for the purpose described. r plate, the said bar being divided into sec- 7. A type bar divided into sections which tions substantially midwav between the proare adapted to be arranged end to end, and jections, for the purpose described.

5 each formed with an undercut holding pro- In testimony-whereof, I have affixed m 15 jection to overhang the edge of a printing signature in presence of two witnesses. plate. PHILIP T. DODGE.

8. A type bar having a fiat or plain sur- Witnesses: face to receive and support a printing plate, C. WV. WIMBERLY,

'10 and provided at opposite ends of the sur- E. J. LAMB. 

